Method for removing meat from bones



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United States Patent Y 3,370,321 METHOD FOR REMOVING MEAT FROM BONESStephen A. Paoli, 821 Westchester Drive, Rockford, Ill. 61107 Originalapplication Sept. 6, 1963, Ser. No. 307,148, now Patent No. 3,256,555,dated June 21, 1966. Divided and this application June 29, 1965, Ser.No. 482,650

11 Claims. (CI. 1745) The present invention pertains to the removal ofmeat from bones, and this application is a continuation-in-part of mycopending application Ser. No. 101,038, filed Mar. 30, 1961, as acontinuation-in-part of my earlier filed applications Ser. No. 685,042,filed Sept. 19, 1957, and Ser. No. 494,160, filed Mar. 14, 1955, nowabandoned. This application is a division of my copending applicationSer. No. 307,148, filed Sept. 6, 1963, now Patent No. 3,256,555, grantedJune 21, 1966.

One of the major problems in the butchering and meat packing industryheretofore has been the removal of meat from bones and the salvaging ofthe meat which remains on the bones following ordinary deboningoperations. Bones subjected to conventional deboning methods usuallycarry a relatively large amount of residual meat which may be used formaking hamburger, lunch meat and similar products. Such meat, beingalmost all lean, is particularly valuable for these purposes. It hasbeen customary to cut and remove from the bones manually as much of thisresidual meat as possible. This involves skilled, high cost labormanually wielding deboning knives. The procedure is time consuming,expensive, and even when completed, considerable valuable meat stillremains on the bones.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a method forautomatically removing meat from bones. The invention may be utilizedfor removing the remainder of the meat from the bones following handcutting or trimming of the meat with deboning knives, thus salvagingsuch meat. The invention may also be utilized for removing all of themeat from the bones before, as well as after, the manual deboningoperation, thus eliminating the necessity for hand trimming or cuttingand providing a major step toward automation in the packing andbutchering industry.

Another object is to provide a method of removing meat from a widevariety of bones wherein each bone is subjected to yieldable cleaningelements which impart to it a random tumbling motion exposingsubstantially its entire area to the action of the cleaning elements,and wherein the bone is simultaneously moved along a generallypredetermined path through and out of the cleaning zone as an incidentto exposure to the cleaning elements.

A further object is to provide a method of automatically removing meatfrom bones wherein each bone is passed from aloading zone to a cleaningzone, tumbled at random by yieldable cleaning elements on an individualshifting axis disposed generally longitudinally of the bone, andsimultaneously moved bodily through the cleaning zone to a bonedischarge zone as an incident to exposure to the cleaning elements, themeat removed in the cleaning zone being delivered to a collecting zone.

Other objects and advantages f the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of one form of bone cleaning machine bymeans of which the method of the present invention thereof may bepracticed.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are sequential views of one form of meat and bone productbefore and after processing in accordance with the present invention.

3,370,321 Patented Feb. 27, 1968 ice FIGS. 4 and 5 are sequential viewsof another form of meat and bone product before and after processing inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic view illustrating one mode of carrying out themethod of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view taken axiallythrough the illustrative bone cleaning machine of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 8 and 9 are fragmentary horizontal sectional views through themachine, taken respectively in the planes of the lines 8-8 and 9-9 inFIG. 7 but on a slightly reduced scale.

FIG. 10 is a further enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional viewthrough the rotor and stator of the machine of FIG. 1 and illustratingits bone cleaning action.

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary perspective view, on a somewhat reduced scale,showing a portion of the stator of the machine of FIG. 1 adjacent thebone discharge aperture.

FIGS. 12 and 13 are enlarged fragmentary sectional views takenrespectively in the lines 12-12 and 13-13 of FIG. 11.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view similar to FIG. 10 butshowing slightly modified cleaning elements on the stator.

FIG. 15 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view illustrating thelower end portion of the rotor of the machine of FIG. 1 but with thecleaning elements removed.

FIG. 16 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse sectional view taken inthe plane of the line 1616 of FIG. 15. FIG. 17 is a diagrammaticdevelopmental view of the outer'periphery of the rotor of'the machine ofFIG. 1 showing the position and spacing of the cleaning elementsthereon.

FIG. 18 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view illustrating theprojecting end portions of the cleaning elements of the rotor and statorof the machine shown in FIG. 1. a

FIG. 19 is a fragmentary perspective view of another form ofillustrative bone cleaning machine by means of which the method of theinvention may be carried out.

FIG. 20 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view taken alongthe line 2020 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 21 is a fragmentary sectional view taken in the plane of the line21-21 in FIG. 20.

FIGS. 22 and 23 are enlarged fragmentary perspective views of certaincleaning elements or blades in the machine of FIG. 19.

FIG. 24 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view through aportion of the machine as shown in FIG. 21.

FIG. 25 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view similar to FIG. 24 butillustrating the action of the cleaning elements in the machine.

FIG. 26 is an enlarged fragmentary developmental view illustrating aportion of the rotor of the machine shown in FIG. 20.

FIG. 27 is an enlarged fragmentary developmental View taken in the planeof the line 27-27 in FIG. 20.

FIG. 28 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the approximate motion andpath of a bone while being cleaned in the machine of FIG. 19.

FIG. 29 is an enlarged view further illustrating the action of thecleaning elements of a machne as shown in FIG. 20.

FIG. 30 is a perspective view of a modified form of rotor.

FIG. 31 is a perspective view of another illustrative form of bonecleaning machine also adapted for carrying out the method of theinvention. 7

While the invention is susceptible of various modifications, alternativeconstructions and modes, I have shown in the drawings and will hereindescribe in detail several illustrative embodiments. It is to beunderstood, however, that I do not intend to limit the invention by suchdisclosures, but aim to cover all modifications, alternativeconstructions, modes and equivalents falling within the spirit and scopeof the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

The method of the present invention is applicable to a broad variety ofmeat-laden bones such as those shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. The expressionmeat-laden bone, as used herein, includes manually cleaned bones whichstill carry residual meat, bones from which the primal cuts of meat havebeen removed but which have not been manually cleaned, and completebone-in cuts of meat such as rounds, shanks, necks and shoulders. Thetwo illustrated items are simply exemplary of this broad variety of meatand bone products handled by the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a non-disjointed beef neck bone from which a portion of themeat has been trimmed manually in accordance with ordinary packing housepractice. After processing by application of the method and apparatus ofthe present invention, the remaining meat is cleaned from the bone andthe latter is left in the condition illustrated in FIG. 3. The meatwhich is removed is in generally comminuted form and includes a highproportion of edible lean meat. It is collected in the course of thecleaning operation and is suitable for sale to consumers or subsequentprocessing into many different meat foods.

FIG. 4 shows a bone-in cut of pork commonly known as a picnic shoulder.This cut may be processed directly by application of the method andapparatus of the invention without prior manual removal of meattherefrom. In the course of such processing the meat is removed from thebones of the picnic shoulder and collected for subsequent use, the bonesbeing left in the cleaned condition shown in FIG. 5.

Referring more specifically to FIG. 6, one illustrative mode ofpracticing the method of the present invention and applying it to ameat-ladenbone B is there shown diagrammatically. The bone B, in thiscase a manually cleaned bone with residual meat thereon, is passed froma loading zone I into a cleaning zone II where the meat is removed as anincident to its passage therethrough. In the cleaning zone H, meat iscut, scraped, pulled and torn from the bone by relatively movable,yieldable cleaning elements in such manner that it tends to becomminuted into pieces of various size. The cleaned bone B is thenpassed to a bone discharge zone III. The removed meat M tends to drop bygravity from the cleaning elements and into a meat collecting zone IV.In actual practice, of course, a procession of such meat-laden bones Bin closely spaced relation is handled.

Provision is made in the cleaning zone for subjecting the meat-ladenbone B to the relatively movable yieldable cleaning elements in suchmanner that the product is V tumbled with random motion on anindividual, shifting axis in or close to the bone. Such axis tends to begenerally longitudinal of the bone and the position of the axis at anyinstant is determined by the least resistance attitude of the bone tothe action of the cleaning elements. This serves to expose substantiallyall of the external surface of the bone, including crevices, bulges andother irregularities, to the action of the cleaning elements.Simultaneously, the bone is moved bodily along a generally predeterminedpath through the cleaning zone as an incident to exposure to thecleaning elements. Such predetermined path leads through and out of thecleaning zone and it may have a fixed axis spaced from the shiftingindividual axis of random tumbling movement.

In the present instance, as indicated in FIG. 6, the bone is progressedwith bodily movement through the cleaning zone along a predeterminedpath of substantially helical or spiral shape. The configuration of thepath, as well as the random tumbling motion of the bone as it progressestherealong, are both produced by the disposition and arrangement of thecleaning elements. These elements are yieldable in character and areprovided with projecting end portions that are adapted to cut, scrape,pull and tear I the meat from the bone.

Turning now to the apparatus by which the method of the presentinvention may be carried out, it will be noted that such apparatus isexemplified in certain bone cleaning machines described herein. Ingeneral, each such bone cleaning machine comprises a first set' ofcleaning ele ments including a plurality of resilient arms secured inspaced apart relation on a first mounting means, and a second set ofcleaning elements including a plurality of resilient arms secured inspaced apart relation on'a second mounting means. The resilient arms ofthe first and second sets project respectively toward, but short of eachother, to define a relatively narrow space between the adjacent freeends thereof, which space is adapted, by lateral bending of the arms, toreceive therein a succession of bones to be cleaned. A blade is carriedby the free end of each resilient arm with the blades of the two sets ofarms respectively oriented for movement in opposite di' the opposedblades past each other for removing meat from the bones receivedtherebetween, and for effecting the advance of the bones throughthe'machine, as an incident to such relative movement.

Referring more'specifically to FIGS. 1 and 7 to 18, one exemplary bonecleaning machine is there shown comprising generally two sets ofcleaning elements 101, 102 projecting toward but short of each other andincluding laterally yieldable spring arms 103, 104. The elements 101,102are mounted to receive a succession of bones B to be cleaned betweenthem and for relative movement past each other to tear, cut, pull orscrape meat from the bone surfaces and also to advance the bones throughand out of the cleaning zone defined by the adjacent ends or blades 105and 106 of the opposed sets of cleaning ele-- ments. Such relativemovement is achieved in this instance by rotation between the two setsof cleaning elements about a fixed common axis, thus effecting bothcleaning action and advance of each bone through the cleaning zone as itis being acted on by the blades of the cleaning elements.

The machine 100 is enclosed within a protective casing 107 which may beconstructed in sections and removed for cleaning purposes. Meat and boneproducts to be processed in the machine may be introduced through anintake chute 108 at the top of the casing 107. Meat removed from thebones by the cleaning elements tends to drop by gravity into acollecting hopper or chute 109 underlying the casing 107. In thisinstance, the hopper 109 has a central aperture adapted to discharge thecollected meat to a suitable conveyor or receptacle (not shown). Thebones cleaned in the machine are ejected from an aperture adjacent thelower end of the casing 107 into a discharge housing 110 adapted todivert them onto an underlying conveyor or receptacle. 7

The machine 100 is power driven by an electric moto 111 and anassociated reduction gear unit 112. The motor 111 may conveniently becontrolled by means of a startstop switch 113. A bracket 114 fixed tothe top of the motor provides a convenient means for engaging thelifting book of an overhead crane or chain hoist to facilitatedisassembly of the machine.

Although the means employed for effecting the combined cleaning andfeeding action may take various forms,

75 the exemplary ones shown herein involve arrangement of the cleaningelements 101, 102 on generally cylindrical mounting means concentricwith each other. One such mounting means is held stationary while theother rotates about an axis common to both. In the machine 100, suchmeans include stationary cylindrical mounting means or stator 115, androtary cylindrical mounting means or rotor 116 concentric therewith(FIGS. 7, 8, 9).

The stator 115 (FIGS. 7 through 1 0, 13) comprises a generallycylindrical frame or cage 117 defined by annular end walls 118, 119connected by a plurality of cleaning element support bars 120. The endsofthe bars 120 fit into annular grooves in the end walls 118, 119 andare retained in place as by means of cap screws 121 projectingtherethrough into axially extending tapped holes in the bars. Thesupport bars 120 are spaced circumferentially and in this instance arevertically disposed. They carry the set of cleaning elements 101 whichproject generally radially therefrom toward the center of the stator.

At its upper end, the stator 115 supports the drive motor 111 andreduction gear unit 112, these units being fixed to transverse supportmembers 122 which extend diametrically across the upper end wall 118. Atits lower end, the stator 115 is supported on intersecting horizontalcrossbars 123 attached to structural member legs 124. The latter mayterminate at their lower ends in casters or fixed anchor elements.

The rotor 116 (FIGS. 7 through 10, 15, 16) comprises a central drum 125rigidly fixed as by welds 126 to a pair of axially spaced end caps 127,128, respectively. The end caps 127, 128 are each formed with aplurality of circumferentially spaced, radial slots 129, 130,respectively. These slots are disposed in axially aligned pairs, eachpair being adapted to receive the ends of one of a plurality ofcircumferentially spaced cleaning element support bars 133 which carrythe set of cleaning elements 102. The latter project generally radiallyfrom the rotor 116. The ends of the bars .133 are rounded at their innercorners to facilitate entry into their correspondingslots upon assemblyof the rotor. The slots 129, 130 have their outer ends closed byretainer rings 131, 132, respectively, which lock the support bars 133in place.

To facilitate ready assembly and disassembly of the support barsrelative to the rotor end caps, the retainer ring 132 is mounted forcircumferentially sliding movement on the lower end cap 128. The ring132 is formed in this instance with a radial slot comparable in width toeach of the slots 136 in the end cap 128 (FIGS. 15, 16). With thisarrangement, a rotor support bar 133 may be installed by inserting itsupper end in the slot 129 of the upper end cap 127, the retainer ring131 of which is fixed thereon. At or about the same time, the lowerretainer ring 132 is rotated to the point where its slot 134 is alignedwith the corresponding slot 130 in the lower end cap 128. The lower endof the bar 133 is then slid through the slot 134 and into the slot 130.This process is repeated for each of one of the support bars 133. Uponinstallation of the last bar, the retainer ring 132 is rotated to bringits slot 134 opposite the land between a pair of adjacent slots 130. Thering 132 may then be secured in that position as by means of set screw135 (FIG. 15). Disassembly may, of course, be accomplished by reversingthis procedure.

In the illustrative machine 100, the rotor 1-16 is journaled forrotation upon a generally vetrical axis located centrally of the machine(FIG. 7). The upper end cap 127 is drivingly coupled, as by means of akeyed or splined connection, to output shaft 136 of motor drivenreduction gear unit 112. The lower end cap 128 is formed with anintegral stub shaft 137 journaled in a combined line and thrust bearing138 of the antifriction type. The latter is mounted in a stationary hub139 situated at the intersection of the frame crossbars 123.

Access to the rotor 116, and to the interior of the stator 115, isprovided in the illustrative n'lachine by means of a removable sectionof support bars a overlying the bone discharge aperture 140 (FIGS. 7,ll, 12). The bars 120:: are identical with the bars 120 except for theirshorter length and mode of fastening. Each of the bars 126a is securedat its lower end to an arcuate bracket 141 as by means of a cap screw142. At its opposite end, each bar is fitted into the annular groove ofthe upper end wall 118 and secured in place as by means of a threadedstud 143 projecting therethrough and a wing nut 144 threaded thereon.The bars 120a and bracket 141 are manipulable as a unit. The ends of thebracket 141 are slotted at 145 and 146 to receive the adjacent fulllength support bars 120. To facilitate assembly and disassembly, theslot 145 is somewhat deeper than the slot 146 (FIG. 11).

Each of the stator support bars 120, 120a (FIGS. 7 through 11) carries aplurality of the resilient cleaning elements 101 which in this casecomprise leaf spring arms 103. The support bars 120, 120a and the leafspring arms 103 are arranged so that the latter project substantiallyradially inward toward the rotor, their projecting ends being spacedfrom the projecting ends of the cleaning elements 102 on the rotor by apredetermined clearance distance. This distance may, for example, be onthe order of A; to /4 vof an inch. The spring arms 103 are arranged inrelatively close, longitudinally spaced relation along the support bars120, 120a and in this case happen to be secured thereto as by means ofpairs of rivets 147. In the present instance, the stator includessixtyfour such bars 120, 120a. Fifty-three of these bars each carryseventeen spring arms 103; the two bars 120 which flank the bonedischarge aperture 140 each carry sixteen spring arms 1113; and the nineshort bars 120a over the aperture 140 each carry twelve arms 193. Thespring arms, in one specific embodiment, are each made of springtempered stainless steel 1 inch in width, 0.025 inch in thickness, and 6inches in length mounted with a clearance of inch between adjacent'armson the same support bar.

The projecting end portion of each stator cleaning element arm 103(FIGS. 7, l0 and 18) is somewhat tapered, terminating in a reverselybent hook or finger element 148. In the present instance, the element148 has a throat opening of about A to V inch and its free end definesthe blade 105 which normally faces away from the rotor. However, in theoperation of the machine, the meat-laden bone engages and deflects thestator arm 1113, bringing the hook 148 and its blade 105 into engagementwith the bone (FIG. 10). w I

Alternatively, some or all of the stator cleaning element arms may havean open hook or finger element 148:: at their projecting ends (FIG. 14).The hooks 148a also terminate in blades 105 and tend to provide somewhatmore cutting and scraping action than the reversely bent hooks 148. Theyalso tend to engage the surface of the bone with less spring armdeflection than is required by the hooks 148. The use of the hooks 148awill, of course, be governed largely by the nature of the bones beingprocessed in the machine.

Each of the rotor support bars 133 (FIGS. 7 through 10, 18) carries aplurality of resilient cleaning elements 102 which in this instancecomprise leaf spring arms 104. The latter are rigidly fixed to theleading face (relative to the direction of rotation) of their associatedbar as by pairs of rivets 149 and project generally radially outwardfrom the drum 125, stopping short of the ends of the stator elements 101by the predetermined distance referred to above. The ends of the arms104, except for the first course, define the cleaning element blades106. The rotor spring arms 104 are mounted in relatively close,longitudinally spaced relation, in this case ten to a sup port bar andthe rotor including 48 bars. These arms, in the specific embodiment lastreferred to, were made of spring tempered stainless steel 2 /3 inches inWidth, 0.050

inch in thickness, approximately 10 inches in length, mounted with aclearance of /s inch between adjacent arms on the same bar.

The spring arms 104 in the first or upper course of rotor cleaningelements are somewhat shorter than the others, being formed withchamfered or tapered ends 150 so as to leave a large clearance area withrespect to the stator cleaning elements 101 (FIG. 7). This clearancearea is adapted to receive meat-laden bones from the loading chute 108.The tapered ends 150 of the first course of rotor cleaning elements,assisted by the end portions of the second course and by centrifugalforce, direct the bones into active engagement Wtih the other rotor andstator cleaning elements.

Provision is made for advantageously increasing the effective length anddeflection of the stator and rotor spring arms 103, 104 when subjectedto load incident to operation of the machine. This is accomplished byforming each spring arm 103, 104 with an offset intermediate .its endssuch that the projecting end portion of each spring arm will be situatedin trailing relation to its inner I end portion with respect to thedirection of relative movement between the rotor and stator (FIGS. 7through 10, 14).

Referring more particularly to FIGS. 7 and 10, it will be noted thateach of the stator spring arms 103 is formed with an offset 151intermediate its ends. The offset 151 defines an obtuse angle with eachend portion of the spring arm 103. In like manner, each of the rotorspring arms 104 is formed with an offset 152 intermediate its ends andalso defining an obtuse angle with each end portion of the arm 104. Aswill be evident from FIG. 10, upon deformation of the spring arms 103,104 rearwardly due to engagement with a bone, the reaction force on eachdeflecting spring arm will be applied in part as a longitudinal tensilestress and in part as a lateral bending stress. Since a portion of thereaction force is taken up in tension, this tends to reduce the lateralbending stress on the spring arm; This factor, as well as the greaterresiliency due to greater overall length in the spring arm, tends tominimize chances of spring breakage or permanent set.

With the cleaning elements 101 and 102 mounted as described above, itwill be apparent that a meat-laden bone P delivered into the intakechute 108 will enter the stator and come in contact with the rotatingend portions of the first and second courses of the rotor spring arms104. These direct the bone between the opposed cleaning elements 101,102 as permitted by bending of the spring supporting arms 103, 104 (seeFIG. 10), according to the a size and contour of the bone surfaces beingcleaned. Thus, as shown in FIG. 10, the rotor cleaning elements 102advancing in the direction indicated by the arrow will be bentbackwardly far enough to accommodate the inner surface of the bone P.This deflection, particularly when two or more successive spring arms104 are sandwiched together, results in the buildup of suflicientdriving force to bend the stator cleaning elements 101 far enough toaccommodate the outer surface of the bone P. The driving force of therotor spring arms 104, and the reaction force of the stator spring arms103, tend to rotate or tumble the bone. The relative resiliency of thetwo sets of spring arms 103, 104 is so proportioned that the turningbone will tend to remain roughly centered in the annular clearance spacebetween the stator and rotor cleaning elements 101, 102.

In the course of this action, various ones of the blades 105 and 106will engage the bone surface at different angles and thereby act indifferent ways in removing any meat adhering to the bone. Some of thestator blades 105 and their associated hook elements 148 will engageresidual meat directly and pull or tear it off the bone in chunks.Others, both stator and rotor blades 105, 106, will at a given instantbe in full contact with the bone surface and scrape across the latter todislodge meat therefrom. Still other blades may be inclined so that onlya ways according to its angle of contact with the bone sur- 7 face. Suchangle also varies according to the contour of the bone surface along therotor axis. With the bone disposed between the two annular sets ofcleaning elements and engaged by these at a multiplicity of pointsspaced around as well as along the bone, the turning movement of therotor against the bone will rotate or tumble the latter on a shiftingindividual axis in or near the bone and disposed generallylongitudinally thereof. In this way, other parts of the bone surface arepresented for engagement by the passing blades of both the inner andouter cleaning elements 101 and 102. v

As already noted, the blades 105, 106 of the cleaning elements mountedas above described coact effectually during turning of the rotor toengage and clean the entire surfaces of bones which vary Widely in size,shape and contour. An important aspect of the present invention is toutilize the same relative movement between the cleaning elements 101 and102 toadvance each bone progressively through the cleaning zone so as topresent different areas of its surface to the cleaning elements, andalso to remove the bone from engagement with the cleaning elementsbefore any substantial amount of the bone has been scraped or chippedoff.-

The desired advance of the bone along the axis of the rotor andeventually out through the discharge opening 140 is achieved in themachine by mounting one or both sets of the cleaning elements to act onthe bones like a screw thread, thus utilizing the relative movementbetween the rotor and stator' to advance the bone progressively alongthe rotor axis until it is discharged from between the cleaningelements. In the present instance, the cleaning elements 102 of therotor and their spring arms 104 are arranged in a threadlike pattern ofgenerally helical or spiral form. This is shown more fully in FIG. 17,which is a diagrammatic developmental view illustrating the free ends ofthe rotor spring arms 104 at the outer.

periphery of the rotor.

Referring more specifically to FIG. 17, it will be noted that thishelical or spiral pattern is defined by a void or is obtained in a novelmanner by forming the outer ends of the rotor spring arms withrelatively wide relief notches, leaving projecting end portions ofcomparable width which terminate in the blades 106. In addition, therotor spring arms 104 are arranged with their projecting end portions ina plurality of axially spaced rows, each of which extends only part Wayaround the rotor circumference, and by overlapping adjacent rows in acircumferential direction to obtain the desired pitch of the flute orvoid153 between the rows of spring arms. In this instance, theprojecting end portions of the rotor arms 104 are arranged in groups oftwenty-four in adjacent'axially spaced rows, with adjacent sets ofprojecting end portions being overlapped circumferentially to the extentof four arms so as to obtain a staggered effect. This defines whatappears in FIG. 17 to be seven voids 153, each comprising threestraight-line portions offset progressively from upper left to lowerright, as viewed in FIG. 17. However, in the actual spring arm patternon the rotor, these voids are really one continuous passage or fluteextending around the rotor about seven times in the length of the rotor.7

Provision is made so that bones cannot enter so far into the flute orflutes 153 as to jam between the rows of projecting ends of the rotorspring arms 104. This is accomplished by limiting the depth of the flute153 throughout the periphery of the rotor, including the interchanges ortransition areas where the flute changes direction. Flute depth isdetermined along the major portion of its length by the depth of therelief notches. At the interchanges or transition areas, flute depth isdetermined in part by the depth of the relief notches and in part by theuse of shortened spring arms having no projecting end portions. Thelatter also serve as rearward support members for preventing overbendingof the bone-engaging spring arm or arms ahead of them.

The rotor 116 may also include means to facilitate posinve ejection ofcleaned homes through the discharge aperture 140 without undueinterference with the flow of removed meat from the cleaning elements tothe collecting hopper. This may be accomplished by forming the lowermostcourse of rotor spring arms 104 with integral extensions 154 whichunderlie the stator spring arms 103 in closely spaced relation therewith(FIG. 7). The extensions 154 may also be twisted on their radial axes,as shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, to increase the surface area which interceptsthe falling bones. With this construction, bones reaching the lower endof the annular space between the cleaning elements 101, 102 will besupported and positively guided by the extensions 154, aided bycentrifugal force, into the bone discharge aperture 140.

By reason of the helical or spiral progression pattern of the rotorcleaning elements 102 and their spring arms 104, the rotor elements 102act on the bone in a manner analogous to a screw thread on a mating nut.This advances the bone axially as well as circumferentially of therotor. The overall movements of a bone are illustrated in FIG. 6 fromwhich it will be apparent that the bone is turned, rolled or tumbledcontinuously as indicated by the small arrows while being advancedbodily along a generally helical path which is indicated by the longarrows and which progresses both around and along the rotor axis. In afew revolutions around the rotor axis, the bone is cartied to the endsof the rotor and stator and discharged from the bone discharge opening140.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and l0, the bone will usually assume a position withits longer dimension extending generally along the rotor axis. Thus, thebone itself turns, rolls or tumbles with random motion about a shiftingaxis of its own while it is being advanced bodily around the rotor axis.By these combined actions, all surfaces of the bone are presented to thecleaning elements and each area is engaged many times and in manydifferent ways with th result that the meat on the bone is substantiallyall removed without at the same time breaking or chipping offobjectionable quantities of the bone itself. This is due not only to thecomparative bluntness of the blades but also to the more pliablecharacter of the meat coupled with the fact that the blades are mountedto yield when the more rigid surface of the bone is encountered.

It will be apparent that with the elements 101 and 102 mounted asdescribed above, the machine adapts itself automatically to bones ofwidely varying sizes and shapes while acting with equal efficiency inremoving the meat from the bone surfaces. At the same time relativemotion between the elements to remove the meat from the bones isutilized in a novel manner to feed each bone through and out of thecleaning zone. It is only necessary, therefore, to deliver the bonesinto the chute 108, the cleaning operation then proceedingautomatically.

In the present instance, it has been found that excellent resuts areobtained by operating the rotor at such speed as to impart to the outerends of the inner cleaning elements 102 a linear speed of approximately660 to 825 feet per minute.

By cleaning the bones in the manner contemplated, virtually all of themeat that could be removed by careful and laborious hand trimming isrecovered. In addition, much of the labor spent according to presentpractice may be saved, since less hand trimming is required. The meatremoved is largely lean and is readily usable in a wide variety of meatfood products. In some instances it may 10 be salable without furthergrinding as is necessary with the meat removed from bones by handtrimming.

Referring more specifically to FIGS. 19 through 30 another exemplarybone cleaning machine 200 by means of which the method of the inventionmay be carried out is there shown. The machine 200 comprises generallytwo sets of cleaning elements 210, 211 projecting toward each other andmounted on laterally yieldable spring arms 209 to receive a successionof bones B to be cleaned between them and for relative movement pasteach other so as to not only tear, cut, or scrape meat from the bonesurfaces but also to advance the bones through and out of the cleaningzone defined by the adjacent ends or blades 213 and 214 of the opposedsets of cleaning elements. Preferably, the relative movement to effectthe cleaning action is achieved by rotation between the two sets ofcleaning elements about a fixed common axis and the rotary motion isalso utilized to create a force for effecting the advance of the bonethrough the cleaning area as it is being acted on by the blades of thecleaning elements.

In this instance, the elements 210 and 211 are arranged to formgenerally cylindrical cleaning surfaces concentric with each other andone mounted stationarily while the other rotates about the common axis.The stator or stationary cylindrical mounting means is a generallycylindrical frame or cage 215 around which the elements 210 are spacedboth axially or circumferentially and longitudinally, the cage beingapertured for the free passage of finely ground pieces of meat outwardlytherethrough. The cage is disposed within a hollow tubular casing 216having end walls 217, 218 connected by tie bolts 219 (FIG. 20) andsupported above the machine base 220. The cleaning elements 211 of theother or inner set are similarly spaced apart and project outwardly froma drum or inner cylindrical supporting means 221 having trunnions 222 atopposite ends journaled in bearings on the housing end walls. In thisinstance, the cleaned bones are discharged through an opening 223 (FIG.20) formed by a ring 231 encircling a central opening in the end wall217. The drum hearing at this end is carried by a crossbar 224 which ispreferably U-shaped so that the bearing is spaced outwardly from thehousing end wall 217. The other trunnion of the drum is coupled to ashaft 225 driven through a speed reducer from an electric motor 226mounted on the machine frame. I

As shown in FIG. 24, the blades 213 and 214 of the cleaning elements 210and 211 are relatively short and disposed with their edges facingcircumferentially around the rotor axis. Each element takes the form ofa finger or hook fixed to the end of a relatively stiff but neverthelessflexible spring arm 209 anchored at its other end so as to be supportedcantilever fashion for lateral bending in all directions. The blades areat the ends of hook shaped members or fingers 228 formed on the outerends of the spring arms 209, which, in this instance and to obtain thedesired characteristics, comprise cylindrical helical coils 227 ofresilient wire with closely contacting convolutions about of an inch indiameter and of a substantial length, for example, 1% to 3 inches. Thewire used in the present instance is of an inch in diameter. Whereas inthe illustrated embodiment of the invention, the flexible arms 209comprise a helical coil of resilient wire, the flexible arms may beconveniently designated sprlng arms.

Each spring coil 227 is mounted cantilever fashion at one end and thewire extending beyond the other end is bent laterally of the coil axisto form the hook or finger 228 (FIGS. 8 to 10) which in the case of therotor elements 11 opens in the direction of turning of the supportingrotor or drum 21 but reversely in the case of the stator elements 10. Tothis end, the wire is spiraled away from the terminal convolution of thecoil into a plane including the coil axis and at the same time is bentupwardly in an are 238 so as to leave a straight portion or finger 239at the end. The latter is disposed perpendicular to the c il 1 1 axisand projects transversely across the latter and outwardly beyond theside of the coil, the length of the finger 239 being about half an inch.

Some of the ends 213 and 214 which form the blades of the cleaningelements 210 and 211, in this instance the alternate elements of eachrow, are flattened as indicated at 240 (FIGS. 22 and 23) in a planeperpendicular to the coil and terminate in widened but rather blunt endedges 241 of the blades 213 or 214, the length of the latter beingseveral times the diameter of the wire forming the fingers. The bladesthus constructed are especially adapted to scrape the bone surfaceswithout gouging into and re moving part of the bone proper. The ends ofthe other or intervening cleaning elements are flattened in aperpendicular direction as shown in FIG. 23 to produce a similarwidening of the blade edge. Since the latter lies in a planeperpendicular to the direction of motion past the bone being cleaned,the corners of the edge may remove the meat by a tearing action andthis, without cutting or gouging out any substantial amount of the boneitself.

The ends of the coils 227 opposite the cleaning elements 210 and 211 areanchored in the stator frame or on the rotor drum so as to be disposedsubstantially radially with the inner and outer cleaning elementsdisposed close to each other (FIGS. 20, 21, and 24) but spaced apartradially so as to pass by each other during turning of the drum. In thecase of the stator elements, the end of the wire of the coil is bent atright angles as indicated at 229 (FIG. 24) and projected outwardly witha close fit through a hole in a bar 230 which spans the end walls 217and 218 of the housing 216 and is clamped at opposite ends in rings 231which abut against the housing end walls. After passing through the baruntil the end of the coil comes into abutment with the bar, the wire isbent laterally and at right angles as indicated at 233 to lie in a slot234. The projecting end 235 of the wire is again bent substantially atright angles to lie alongside the bar, the spring coil thus being lockedagainst displacement laterally or longitudinally of the bar and heldsecurely against twisting by the side walls of the slot 234.

The stator frame 215 is formed by the end rings 231 and a multiplicityof the bars 230 paralleling each other and the axis of the rotor andclosely spaced around the circumference of the stator so as to locatethe inner ends of the coils 227 on the adjacent bars about half an inchapart as shown in FIG. 24. The cleaning elements 210 are thuscorrespondingly spaced apart longitudinally of the stator, this beingaccomplished by drilling and slotting each bar 230 at regular intervalsalong its length as shown in FIG. 27 and attaching spring coils in themanner described above. To facilitate advance of the bones through thecleaning zone defined by the elements 210 and 211, the points ofanchorage of the stator elements 210 on the adjacent bars 230 arepreferably offset slightly from each other as shown in FIG. 27 so as toarrange the elements in a row which progresses helically around thestator with a lead angle c on the order of degrees. This angle is variedaccording to the desired rate of advance of a bone through the cleaningarea and therefore the time during which a bone is subjected to thecleaning action.

The bones B to be cleaned are introduced into the cleaning area definedby the elements 210 and 211 by feeding the same in a radial directionthrough the stator elements near the end opposite that from which thecleaned bones are to be discharged. For this purpose, one or more of thebars 230 is omitted at the top of the stator as shown in FIG. 21 toprovide a radial opening 246 vertically aligned with a chute 245supported on the top of the housing 216 and projecting through anopening in the latter.

The meat removed from the bones by the action of the relatively rotatingstator and rotor elements 210 and 211 is quite finely ground orcomminuted, the pieces being comparable in size to ordinary hamburger.The particles ing process. The comminuted meat passing through thescreen falls through an opening 255 in the bottom of the housing 216 andaccumulates in a receptacle 256.

The coiled springs 227 carrying the rotor cleaning elements 211 aremounted cantilever fashion and project radially and outwardly from therotor drum 221 while be-' ing spaced uniformly around and longitudinallyof the latter to space the elements inwardly a short distance from thestator elements 210, in this instance about onefourth of an inch. Whilethe mounting of the rotor elements may be the same as described abovefor the stator elements 210, a special mounting 'is employed in thepresent instance to facilitate anchoring and spacing of the inner coilends. This is achieved by bending the extended end 247 of the wiresubstantially at right angles to the coil 227 and, starting at a pointclose to the latter, winding a second coil 248 of the same or smallersize as the coil 227 and somewhat shorter than the latter. The secondcoil 248 is disposed on the side of the first oppositethe cleaningelement 211 on the latter and extends parallel to the shank 239 of thehook or finger of this element. The second coil 248 surrounds and isthreaded onto a heavier wire 249 (FIG. 24) which extends helicallyaround the drum 221 at the relatively small lead angle a (FIG. 20). Eyes250 at opposite ends of the wire are fastened as by screws tocorresponding ends of the drum 221 after enough of the coils 248 havebeen threaded onto the wire to fill the entire length of the latter andbring the successive coils 248 into end to end abutment as shown in FIG.24.

The coils 248 thus serve as spacersfor determining the angular spacingof the elements 211. To complete the anchorage, the Wire 2510 at theouter end of the coil 248 is extended tangentially and at right anglesto the coil axis along the surface of the supporting drum 21 so as tounderlie the next adjacent coil 248 as indicated at 251. The extensionbears against the drum surface thus preventing the coil 248 from turningin one direction. In the other direction, turning by unwinding of thecoil 248 is prevented by the adjacent coil 248 and the supporting helix249.

The cantilever mounting thus provided offers greater resistance tobending of each coil 227 and therefore the associated element 211 in onedirection, clockwise as viewed in FIG. 29, than in the other direction.That is to say, each coil 248 when anchored at one end as abovedescribed resists turning of its other end with a force which is greaterwhen the force is in a direction to wind the coil more tightly than whenthe bending tends to unwind the coil. As a result, the mounting of eachelement 211 is somewhat stiffer and oliers more resistance to lateralfiexure in one longitudinal direction along the rotor than in thereverse direction.

Such differential resistance to sidewise displacement of the rotorelements may be achieved in other ways. For example, the inner ends ofthe spring coils 227 may be disposed in a groove 260 which extendshelically around the rotor drum 221 (FIG. 30). The groove 60 has sidewalls which after different degrees of flexing of the coil in oppositedirections engage the coil at a point spaced a short distance outwardlyfrom the ends. Thus, by its engagement with one of the groove walls, theeffective or unsupported length of the spring coil is shortened causinga corresponding increase in the stiffness of the spring. By varying theangles at which the coil is disposed when it encounters the oppositeside walls of the groove, the desired differential resistance of thespring to bending may be achieved.

In this instance, each rotor coil 227 is mounted in the mannerpreviously described. That is to say, the extended 13 end of the wire247 is wound into a coil 248 which is threaded onto the helicalsupporting wire 249, the latter being laid around the bottom of thegroove 26%. By omitting the wire extensions 251 above described, thecoil 248 is free to turn on the support 249 and is thus pivotallysupported.

The desired advance of the bone along the axis of the drum andeventually out through the discharge opening is achieved in the presentinstance by the mounting of one or both sets of the cleaning elements toact on the bones like a screw thread and thus utilize the turning of therotor to advance the bone progressively along the drum axis until it isdischarged from between the cleaning elements. In the present instance,both sets of cleaning elements contribute to the screw action andaccordingly the elements v210 and 21-1 of each set are arranged in arrowextending helically around the stator and rotor respectively. In thecase of the stator elements 210, the helical arrangement is achieved bylocating the points of anchorage of the coils 227 on the adjacent bars230 in offset relation according to the lead desired in the helical rowin which all of the elements are disposed. With the rotor turning in thedirection indicated, the stator elements 210 are preferably disposed inthe positions shown in FIG. 27 in order to facilitate advance of thebone in the direction indicated. A similar helical arrangement isachieved in the case of the rotor elements by mounting the latter inspaced relation around the supporting wire 249 which extends helicallyaround the drum 221 from one end to the other.

The differential stiffening of the cleaning elements is achieved in thepresent instance in the mounting of the rotor elements 211. Either ofthe methods above described may be employed, the increased resistance ofeach element to bending being provided in the direction opposite that inwhich it is desired to advance the bones. That is to say, the mountingof the rotor elements is such that each is more readily yieldable in thedesired direction of advance of the bones than in the oppositedirection. Thus, with the mountings shown in FIG. 29, the bones areadvanced through the cleaning area in the direction indicated by thearrow.

With the cleaning elements 216 and 211 mounted as described above, itwill be apparent that a bone B delivered into the hopper 245 will passdown through the opening 246 in the stator and come in contact with therotating blades 214 of the rotor elements 211. These carry the bonelaterally in between the opposed cleaning elements 210 and 211 aspermitted by bending of the spring supporting arms 209 (see FIG.according to the size and contour of the bone surfaces being cleaned.Thus, as shown in FIG. 25, the elements 211 advancing in the directionindicated by the arrow will be bent backwardly far enough to pass theinner surface of the bone or until the driving force has, by bending ofthe coils 227 of the rotor elements, built up sufficiently to bend thestator elements out of the Way of the advancing bone. In the course ofthis action, the blade edges 213 and 214 of the different blades willengage the bone surface at diiferent angles and thereby act in differentways in re moving any meat adhering to the bone.

The action of each blade will vary in numerous other ways according toits angle of contact with the bone surface which angle also variesaccording to the sloping of the bone surface along the rotor axis. Thisis illustrated in FIG. 29 which shows an elongated bone whose varyinglongitudinal contour may cause a bending of the spring coils 227transversely of the direction of advance of the rotor elements.

With the bone disposed between the two annular sets of cleaning elementsand engaged by these at a multiplicity of points spaced around as wellas along the bone, the turning movement applied to the inner side of thebone will rotate the latter on its longitudinal axis. In this way, otherparts of the bone surface are presented for engage- The rolling of thebone and its bodily advance aboutthe rotor axis in the manner abovedescribed is accompanied by displacement of the cleaning elements 214)and 211 transversely of the path of relative movement between the statorand rotor elements. With the latter mounted to resist bending more inone direction than the other longitudinally, there is a definitetendency for the elements deflected in the direction of greaterstiffness to urge the bone in the opposite direction thereby overcomingthe weaker spring supporting the oppositely deflected elements. Thisaction is augmented by the progression of the elements of each sethelically around the rotor axis. By virtue of such progression, therotor elements act on the bone in a manner analogous to a screw threadon a mating nut and thus advance the bone along the rotor axis in thedirections of progression of the elements and also of their weakness toresist lateral deflection. in a similar way, the helically arrangedstator elements 2% operate on the bone in a manner analogous to thethread of a nut and, since the helical progression is in the samedirection as that of the rotor elements, the forces tending to shift thebone axially are correspondingly augmented. The overall movements of ahome are illustrated in FIG. 28 from which it will be apparent that thebone is turned continuously as indicated by the small arrows while beingadvanced bodily along a path which is indicated by the long arrows andwhich progresses both around and along the rotor axis. In a fewrevolutions around the axis, the bone is carried beyond the ends of therotor and stator and discharged from the casing outlet 223.

FIG. 31 illustrates another form of bone cleaning machine 700 by meansof which the method of the invention may be carried out. The machine 700has two sets of cleaning elements 710 and 711 and their spring arms 709are carried, respectively, by a pair of continous belts or conveyors 712and 713. Bones to be cleaned are supplied to the cleaning elements 711on the belt or conveyor 713 from a hopper 714. The conveyor or belt 713is 0perated in the direction indicated at a fast speed, for example 25r.p.m. The other conveyor or belt is operated in the same direction, asindicated, at a slow speed, for example 1 rpm. Thus, the cleaningelements 711 are rapidly moved relative to the cleaning elements 710,the cleaning elements 710 and 711 facing, respectively, in oppositedirections. The conveyor 713 carries the bones to be cleaned between thecleaning elements 710 and 711, which, in the manner discussed above,cut, scrape and tear the meat from the bones because of the relativemovement between the cleaning elements 710 and 711. This relativemovement also causes the bones to rotate about their own axes tocontinually present new surfaces to the cleaning elements 716 and 711 tobe cleaned thereby. Since the conveyor or belt 712 also moves forwardly,but at a slow speed, advancement of the bones longitudinally through themachine is assured. The meat removed from the bones is deposited on abelt conveyor 715 to be conveyed away in the direction indicated. Thecleaned bones are deposited on a roll conveyor 716 to be conveyed awayin the direction indicated. Any removed meat falling on the rolls 716passes between the rolls onto the conveyor 715.

I claim as my invention:

1. A method of removing meat from bone and comprising the steps ofproviding relatively movable yieldable cleaning elements, subjecting ameat-laden bone to said yieldable cleaning elements with random tumblingmotion so as to expose substantially its entire area to the action ofsaid cleaning elements thereby removing meat from the bone, andsimultaneously moving the bone in opposition to its tumbling motionalong a predetermined path as an incident to exposure to said yieldablecleaning elements, said path being defined by said cleaning elements andhaving an axis external to the bone, collecting the re-

1. A METHOD OF REMOVING MEAT FROM BONE AND COMPRISING THE STEPS OFPROVIDING RELATIVELY MOVABLE YIELDABLE CLEANING ELEMENTS, SUBJECTING AMEAT-LADEN BONE TO SAID YIELDABLE CLEANING ELEMENTS WITH RANDOM TUMBLINGMOTION SO AS TO EXPOSE SUBSTANTIALLY ITS ENTIRE AREA TO THE ACTION OFTHE CLEANING ELEMENTS THEREBY REMOVING MEAT FROM THE BONE, ANDSIMULTANEOUSLY MOVING THE BONE IN OPPOSITION TO ITS TUMBLING MOTIONALONG A PREDETERMINED PATH AS AN INCIDENT TO EXPOSURE TO SAID YIELDABLECLEANING ELEMENTS, SAID PATH BEING DEFINED BY SAID CLEANING ELEMENTS ANDHAVING AN AXIS EXTERNAL TO THE BONE, COLLECTING THE REMOVED MEAT, ANDEJECTING THE BONE AS IT REACHES THE END OF SAID PATH.